Pig Health - Splayleg in Piglets

Piglets commonly suffer from a splaying out of the limbs soon
after birth, which can severely compromise their ability to suck
and to escape from under the sow. The overall incidence of
the condition is unknown but can occur:-

a) As a sporadic outbreak over a short
period of time - affecting 20% or more of pigs.

b) As an occasional condition in isolated pigs
or litters.

c) As a longstanding grumbling problem
in a herd.

The condition in itself is not fatal - death being due to a
combination of starvation, chilling and crushing - and as such the
mortality is highly variable, depending on the level and quality of
nursing offered to the piglets. Where husbandry and
stockmanship is inadequate, mortality can approach 100% of affected
piglets.

Fig 1: Four legged splay 'Star'

Fig 2: Hind Limb splay - the most
common

Fig 3: Front legs only affected by
splaying(PRRS form).

Fig 4: Taping of hocks

Fig 5: Taping of hips

Presentation

The condition is seen at or soon after birth and can present in
a number of forms:-

1) "Stars". In
these pigs, both sets of limbs are splayed out sideways, such that
the pig cannot stand and can only get about by crawling or
shuffling.

2) Hind Leg Splays.
This is the most common form of the condition. The back legs
splay out sideways and forward causing the pig great difficulty in
standing on its hind end. Many will "dog sit" and shuffle
around on their backsides. This can lead to considerable
trauma to the skin of the perineum and vulva and secondary
infection.

3) Front Leg Splays.
This is extremely rare - only seen at the height of a PRRS outbreak
in the early days of the disease. The hind limbs work
normally but the front legs splay out sideways such that the pig
moves around with its chin on the floor. Such pigs have great
difficulty sucking and mortality levels are high.

Causes

Splayleg is a truly multifactorial condition, although the 2
least common presentations - front leg splay and "stars" - appear
to be usually associated with the teratogenic effects
of infection, disease or even toxicity in the dam during late
pregnancy, which may affect either nerve or muscle
development. Both conditions occur, for example, during acute
outbreaks of PRRS and are typically short lived outbreaks.

Hind leg splays - the most common form - however, are less clear
cut. In general, the condition is more common:-

1) In the Landrace breed type.

2) In smaller weaker piglets

3) In piglets born onto wet slippery
floors (it is uncommon in the outdoor herds).

4) In association with Congenital Tremor
type AII - which is believed to be caused by a novel pestivirus
affecting naïve sows and gilts in early to mid pregnancy .

5) There is no proven seasonal influence

A possible explanation for the development of the condition is
that certain piglets may be born with a weakness in their adductor
muscles - those responsible for holding the back legs together - as
a result of either genetic or developmental weakness - the latter
resulting from nutritional, environmental, infectious or
managemental insult to the sow, probably in the later stages of
pregnancy. Mycotoxins affecting the pregnant sow have also been
implicated.

The pig is then born into an environment where it struggles to
keep its legs together, the muscles are strained and damaged making
it difficult and/or painful to contract them and hold the legs
together. This damage will occur as a result of the normal
"scrabbling" for a teat in which the natural motion of the hindlegs
is backwards and outwards. Better grip is provided by a bedded pen
but some slatted floor types are less likely to be associated with
splayleg than others eg plastic slats v metal bar slats.

Prevention

Where splayleg is recognised as a significant condition within a
herd, it is necessary to review, with your veterinary surgeon, all
the factors which may be contributing to the problem. This
will include breeding policy, housing and husbandry of the pregnant
sow, nutritional management and a review of flooring in the
farrowing area. The provision of copious bedding around the
farrowing period may help to reduce the incidence of the
condition. Shredded paper may be useful on fully slatted
floors. Alternatively, latticed rubber matting (sold as safety
matting for swimming pools) can be used behind the sow during
farrowing. This is particularly useful on high risk flooring
materials such as metal bar slats eg Tribar.

Treatment

Survival of front leg splays and "stars" is very poor and, in
general, early euthanasia may be the best option.

For hind leg splays, recovery can be excellent if time and care
are provided. In the first few hours the piglet may require
assistance to suck to ensure a reasonable intake of
colostrum. Assisted sucking to ensure early and adequate
colostrum intake alternating with boxing away, under a heat
lamp for the first 24-48 hours, can reduce overlaying losses in
compromised pigs. The traditional method of treating such pigs
involves tying the back legs loosely together below the
hocks. Insulating tape works reasonably but must be checked
daily and removed before it cuts in to the skin. Specially
made hobbles using Velcro are also available and are re-useable;
string and baler twine are not acceptable due to injury they
cause.

Considering that it is the upper muscle masses of the leg, which
control the hip joints, which are compromised, better results may
be achieved by taping the hips together. Again, insulating
tape works well and should pass over the back in front of the
pelvis, down either side to cover the leg below the hip joint to
meet at the back below the tail underneath the anus/vulva.
Again, do not leave the tape on too long (3-5 days should be
plenty); do not make it too tight and do not block the anus/vulva.
(Fig 5.)

The most labour intensive but more effective treatment is
massage. Vigorous working of the muscles of the upper leg and
rump using thumb and forefinger for 5 minutes every few hours in
the first day or 2 of life can give an extremely good recovery
rate. If undertaken, the legs should not be taped as the idea
is to encourage muscle development and this will not occur if the
muscles are not working.

Where splayleg occurs in conjunction with congenital tremor a
high level of stockmanship input is necessary to avoid excessive
losses. Assisted sucking or even artificial feeding may be
necessary to keep pigs alive long enough for them to recover with
attention to hind legged splaying as above a supplementary
requirement. Severly affected pigs should be humanely
euthanased.

Costs

No specific costings are available for splayleg on a national
basis and the costs involved on an affected farm will depend on the
extent of the problem.

Costs are incurred:

As a result of additional labour needed to nurse affected
pigs.

Mortality associated with affected pigs. With a weaned
pig worth in the order of £30 (at 2015 prices) a 1% mortality due
to splayleg in a 600 sow breeding herd will cost nearly £5,000 per
year.

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